Whenever Google algorithm updates are rumored to roll out, people would speculate how it could be the end of SEO. Algorithm updates can definitely and quite significantly impact optimization, but unlike many people believe, these updates are not necessarily killing off best practices. Rather, they alter established ones in order to better serve users. Algorithm updates, as a matter of fact, are designed to improve the efficiency and value of search results. The question remains: how did the latest Panda and Penguin updates impact SEO forever? Here are some valuable insights:
- Overly-optimized sites have always been targets of Google updates. Google updates are always geared towards stopping sites that deliberately try to manipulate organic search results so their pages will rank well. Google’s Penguin update works to punish over-optimization, penalizing sites that show indications of manipulation and over-employing techniques that artificially boost rankings.
- Visitor engagement matters now, more than ever. One factor is that, Google’s Panda update focuses greatly on social interaction. The ranking update puts great emphasis on visitor engagement and social signals, rewarding sites that offer high level of social interaction and visitor engagement with higher points in these regards.
Based on these major alterations, websites should therefore, be more vigilant in selecting the appropriate optimization techniques to use, so as not to be labeled as an overly optimized site. Greater effort should be put in strengthening consumer engagement through social interactions via consumer reviews, social networking, blogs, forums, and other platforms. Just the same, established search engine optimization practices such as generating relevant and good quality content remain to be an important part of optimization. A good rule of thumb would be to always follow current best practices and learning how to adjust to the changing nature of web optimization.
